This website is the University's official information resource designed to anchor communications discussing difficult issues from the last year, including ongoing legal matters, in addition to providing updates on the initiatives we've put in place to address the serious issue of child abuse.

A message from President Rodney Erickson to the University community

Moving forward from the Freeh Report

Dear University Community:

As we all can attest, it has been a heart-wrenching and difficult eight months since we first learned of the charges against Jerry Sandusky and top-level Penn State officials. With the release Thursday of the investigative report by Judge Louis Freeh, the last several days have taken an additional toll.

My heart remains heavy for the victims of this tragedy, which has been a sobering reminder of what can occur when we fail to protect society's weakest and most vulnerable. As one learned scholar so aptly said, "All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing."

We can never again allow this to happen.

The 267-page Freeh Report, while difficult to digest, was a necessary step in finding the truth and continuing our healing process as a community. We must not be afraid to examine ourselves, our policies and our actions — with the clear intent of taking corrective measures and righting the wrongs...........

Much more at the link....

Reader

07-17-2012, 03:24 AM

Posting some background from the Freeh Report on how the board was not informed by Penn State of the Sandusky investigation:

VI. University Officials Do Not Notify the Board of the Sandusky Incident
The Penn State Board of Trustees ("Board" or "Trustees") met on March 15 and 16, 2001. Nothing in the Board records or interviews of Trustees indicate any contemporaneous discussions of the 2001 Sandusky incident and investigation during the meeting. The Board did not have a process or committee structure at that time for 78
receiving regular reports from University officials about matters of potential risk to the University, such as the allegation against Sandusky. On July 24, 2001, Schultz met with leaders of the Second Mile and agreed to sell a parcel to the Second Mile for $168,500.371 The University had bought the property in 1999 for $168,500.372 On September 21, 2001, less than eight months after the Sandusky incident, the Board approved the sale of a parcel of land to the Second Mile.373 Nothing in the Board's records or interviews of Trustees indicate any contemporaneous discussions of the 2001 Sandusky incident and investigation, the propriety of a continuing relationship between Penn State and the Second Mile, or the risks created by a public association with Sandusky when the land transaction was discussed. Schultz, who oversaw the transaction, did not make any disclosure of the Sandusky incident during the Board's review of the land deal. In fact, Schultz approved a press release, issued September 21, 2001 announcing the land sale in which he praised Sandusky for his work with Second Mile. 374

In early 2010 the Pennsylvania Attorney General, in connection with a Grand Jury investigation of Sandusky, issued subpoenas to the University for certain documents; in late 2010 the Grand Jury issued subpoenas for Spanier, Schultz, Paterno, Curley and various members of the Athletic Department in relation to a Grand Jury investigation of Sandusky for child sexual abuse.

In 2011, Spanier, Schultz, Paterno, Curley and various members of the Athletic Department testified before the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury appearances and the Sandusky investigation were reported in a news story on March 31, 2011.

Neither Spanier nor the University's General Counsel, Cynthia Baldwin, briefed the Board of Trustees about the Grand Jury investigation of Sandusky or the potential risk to the University until the Board's meeting on May 11, 2011 and, then, only at the request of a Trustee who had read the March 31, 2011 article.

After receiving a Trustee's request for more information about the Grand Jury investigation, Spanier emailed Baldwin noting that "[the Trustee] desires near total transparency. He will be uncomfortable and feel put off until he gets a report."

At the May 2011 Board meeting, Spanier and Baldwin briefed the Board about the investigation, but minimized its seriousness by not fully describing the nature of the allegations or raising the issue of possible negative impact to the University.

From March 31 - November 4, 2011, the Board did not make reasonable inquiry of Spanier or Baldwin about the Sandusky investigation or potential risks to the University. The Board did not take steps that might have protected the University, such as conducting an internal investigation, engaging experienced criminal counsel, or preparing for the possibility that the results of the Grand Jury investigation could have a negative impact on the University.

Spanier and Baldwin opposed an independent investigation of the Sandusky issue, with Baldwin stating that "[i]f we do this, we will never get rid of this [outside investigative] group in some shape or form. The Board will then think that they should have such a group." Spanier agreed.

80

Reader

07-17-2012, 06:24 PM

Penn State trustee: 'We failed to ask the right questions'

SCRANTON, Pa. -- In their first response to an independent report implicating Pennsylvania State University's board of trustees alongside its top school officials, board members say their "hearts remain heavy" in accepting responsibility for a system that did not sooner stop incidents of sexual abuse by a former assistant football coach.

"We failed to ask the right questions, the tough questions, or to take definitive action," said Kenneth Frazier, who chaired the special investigation task force formed in November. "Put simply, we did not force the issue."

The report released this morning from a team led by investigator Louis Freeh concluded that prior board officials fell short in their oversight of senior university officials, saying they "failed to create an environment which held the university's most senior leaders accountable to it."

............But Spanier brushed off the trustee, first hiding behind a cloak of grand jury secrecy that did not actually cover him, and then, when the trustee persisted, asserting a dozen days later, "I'm not sure it is entirely our place to speak about this when we are only on the periphery of this."

The e-mail exchange - recounted in a damning internal report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh - should have been a red flag, experts on university governance said. No board member should learn of a sensitive matter from a newspaper, they said, calling the way Spanier handled the Sandusky scandal a disastrous lesson in what not [to] do.............

Healthy university boards need to operate as equal partners with their presidents, experts said in interviews. Too often, a board may act with excessive deference toward a president, as seemed to be the case at Penn State, where Spanier's 16-year reign had brought the school to new heights academically. .................

"The board needs to create a climate in which presidents are encouraged and rewarded for disclosure of problems," Chait said. "And presidents need to create a climate that encourages trustees to be inquisitive, persistent and skeptical, and - if there's a need - critical. Presidents should not view that as a vote of no confidence."

A board is charged with oversight, rather than the day-to-day management of a university. Conflicts inevitably arise and can be challenging.

But a concerned board member should be able to voice concerns to the chairman, to the board as a whole in private session - or to go public at an open meeting if all else fails, several university officials said.

Penn State's lone inquisitive trustee (not named in the Freeh report) should have been able to bring his concerns to the entire board and say that he had been trying to get information but had been thwarted by Spanier, Chait said.

"The power of the board is in the collective. It's not in the individual," Chait said.

After seeing what went wrong at Penn State, more people "will be rethinking their participation," O'Donnell predicted.

"Every person who sits on a board in a leadership role as a trustee is watching this."................

UNIVERSITY PARK -- Each member of the Penn State board of trustees must decide whether the university can move forward from the Jerry Sandusky scandal if they remain on the board, university President Rodney Erickson said in an interview today with The Patriot-News.

“They need to look at that individually,” Erickson said. “Whatever they do, the overriding question should be, ‘What’s in the best interest of the university?’”...........

He addressed several issues, including that the university will respond to questions asked about the scandal by the NCAA within days.

He said Graham Spanier’s status — as a professor on sabbatical who could return this academic year — is being re-evaluated in light of the Freeh report.

The status of Tim Curley’s paid leave from his post as athletic director while he awaits criminal trial on perjury and failure to report charges, is also being reviewed.

Erickson said he can’t envision a scenario where Curley returns to that job.

He also changed his stance on honoring the late coach Joe Paterno.......

“The Freeh report, certainly that casts a different light on things,” Erickson said. “There are individuals who have very strong feelings on this.......

He also said the contract of Mike McQueary, the assistant coach who reported the incident in 2001 that has embattled the university, has expired and he was not renewed.

More at link....

IzzyBlanche

07-17-2012, 11:58 PM

A little O/T maybe? But good grief, what a cesspool.

From link, BBM:

In November 2004, four of Penn State's leaders, including then-president Graham Spanier, sat down at Joe Paterno's kitchen table on a Sunday morning. The men asked the iconic coach to retire. Paterno said no, and that was that.

That same month, seven members of Penn State's board of trustees proposed sweeping reforms that would have strengthened the board's oversight power of Spanier and other campus leaders, including Paterno, according to documents obtained this week by "Outside the Lines." The group told the full board, "Decisions scrutinized with the benefit of hindsight need to withstand the test of being informed decisions."

But the board never took a vote on the proposal. Spanier and then-board chairwoman Cynthia Baldwin considered the reforms -- and, just as Paterno had done, said no, three current trustees say....

Joel Myers, a longtime trustee, said the Freeh investigators told him that if the good-governance proposal had been adopted by the board back in 2004, "This (crisis) could have been avoided."

BOTs are notorious for CYA mode. When this happens the students are failed. When we, as students, go to a University, we must follow a Code of Conduct; at Penn State it seems the only ones following that Code were the students. Sandusky's victims were led like lambs to slaughter. IMHO

costalpilot

07-18-2012, 02:04 AM

Penn State trustees must decide individually if they should remain on the board, president Rodney Erickson says

UNIVERSITY PARK -- Each member of the Penn State board of trustees must decide whether the university can move forward from the Jerry Sandusky scandal if they remain on the board, university President Rodney Erickson said in an interview today with The Patriot-News.

“They need to look at that individually,” Erickson said. “Whatever they do, the overriding question should be, ‘What’s in the best interest of the university?’”...........

He addressed several issues, including that the university will respond to questions asked about the scandal by the NCAA within days.

He said Graham Spanier’s status — as a professor on sabbatical who could return this academic year — is being re-evaluated in light of the Freeh report.

The status of Tim Curley’s paid leave from his post as athletic director while he awaits criminal trial on perjury and failure to report charges, is also being reviewed.

Erickson said he can’t envision a scenario where Curley returns to that job.

He also changed his stance on honoring the late coach Joe Paterno.......

“The Freeh report, certainly that casts a different light on things,” Erickson said. “There are individuals who have very strong feelings on this.......

He also said the contract of Mike McQueary, the assistant coach who reported the incident in 2001 that has embattled the university, has expired and he was not renewed.

More at link....

the board needs to be careful about resigning, and leaving the board in the hands of the pro joe Lucarnow people. that would be a diaster of the first magnitude for penn state. to have that fool in a place of power on the board would be fatal, a public relations diaster of the highest order.

In November 2004, four of Penn State's leaders, including then-president Graham Spanier, sat down at Joe Paterno's kitchen table on a Sunday morning. The men asked the iconic coach to retire. Paterno said no, and that was that.

That same month, seven members of Penn State's board of trustees proposed sweeping reforms that would have strengthened the board's oversight power of Spanier and other campus leaders, including Paterno, according to documents obtained this week by "Outside the Lines." The group told the full board, "Decisions scrutinized with the benefit of hindsight need to withstand the test of being informed decisions."

J. J. in Phila

07-19-2012, 04:05 PM

There is pressure from some on the BoT on former board chairman Steve Garban to resign.

From what I've read, it would be a good move for Garban to do so. IMO a board chair is responsible for communicating significant information to the board so that they can do the best job possible. Also IMO, Garban failed spectacularly to do that.

From the article BigCat posted above, emphasis mine:

"Two trustees said the board was most angry at Steve Garban, the then-board chairman who was informed by Spanier in April 2011 of the Sandusky investigation but failed to notify his fellow trustees, according to the Freeh report."

Penn State trustee Steve Garban, who was chairman of the board when the Jerry Sandusky scandal unfolded, has stepped down, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The embattled former chairman was the target of criticism and calls to resign for his handling of the situation. According to the Freeh report, then-Chairman Garban heard from university leaders in late October about the grand jury investigations and potential charges. Garban discussed it with Vice Chairman John Surma and board member Jim Broadhurst.

From what I've read, it would be a good move for Garban to do so. IMO a board chair is responsible for communicating significant information to the board so that they can do the best job possible. Also IMO, Garban failed spectacularly to do that.

I am in agreement. Garban did two things:

A. Fail to inform the Board as a whole.

B. Fail to adequately respond to an individual question from an unknown (currently) board member on the issue.

The problem is, the Board does not directly have the power to remove him. Statute permits the people who elected him to remove him, but I think that the alumni. http://law.onecle.com/pennsylvania/corporations-and-unincorporated-associations/00.057.026.000.html

The Board would basically have to adopt a rule or bylaw for handling removal by the alumni, which they could do. Their charter/bylaws are here:

http://www.psu.edu/trustees/charter.html

The interesting thing is that, if they do that, not only would I get to vote on the removal, but so would Jerry and Dottie Sandusky.

ynotdivein

07-19-2012, 08:33 PM

Penn State trustee Steve Garban, who was chairman of the board when the Jerry Sandusky scandal unfolded, has stepped down, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The embattled former chairman was the target of criticism and calls to resign for his handling of the situation. According to the Freeh report, then-Chairman Garban heard from university leaders in late October about the grand jury investigations and potential charges. Garban discussed it with Vice Chairman John Surma and board member Jim Broadhurst.

Wow. Late October 2011 as in this article, or April 2011, as in the article linked above?

Either way... he stepped down. I'm 100% ok with that...

J. J. in Phila

07-19-2012, 09:09 PM

Penn State trustee Steve Garban, who was chairman of the board when the Jerry Sandusky scandal unfolded, has stepped down, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The embattled former chairman was the target of criticism and calls to resign for his handling of the situation. According to the Freeh report, then-Chairman Garban heard from university leaders in late October about the grand jury investigations and potential charges. Garban discussed it with Vice Chairman John Surma and board member Jim Broadhurst.

He should have brought this to the board. And the board should have been asking questions. I'd like to know who was that one member that tried.

J. J. in Phila

07-19-2012, 09:14 PM

Wow. Late October 2011 as in this article, or April 2011, as in the article linked above?

Either way... he stepped down. I'm 100% ok with that...

That article refers to that one trustee that was on the ball and was asking questions by e-mail in April 2011.

ynotdivein

07-19-2012, 09:27 PM

That article refers to that one trustee that was on the ball and was asking questions by e-mail in April 2011.

Whoever that trustee was, kudos to her/him.

J. J. in Phila

07-19-2012, 10:36 PM

Whoever that trustee was, kudos to her/him.

You had a few members that actually saw their role, correctly, as oversight. Part of that job is making the employees, and Spanier was an employee, justify their actions. It, ultimately, makes them better employees, because they have to put some thought into what they are doing.

Half of the alumni Trustees regarded being on the Board as a high honor for loyal support to the Alumni Association (they were officers) or because they were involved in fundraising. I'm factoring out the new three.

The Board was considered to be "The Country Club." It was a status symbol and meant you could still be BMOC.

There were exceptions, like Joel Myers, who interestingly supported early efforts at transparency.

StellarsJay

07-20-2012, 12:22 AM

BOT Chair Garban is gone.
No wonder he felt more like a university insider than a Board leader.

The uni's bios says he was Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations/Treasurer Emeritus.- 33 years working for Penn State, the last 12 as VP.
http://www.psu.edu/trustees/members/garban.html

Garban played Penn State football 1956-58 and was team captain. Paterno was an assistant coach in that time.
Garban got a B.S. in Business from Penn State in 1959, no record of higher degrees.

Probably when Garban retired. Schultz (bachelors and master`s in Industrial Engineering at Penn State) became Vice-President of Finance and Business in 1995.
Garban was elected to the Board in July 1998.

costalpilot

07-20-2012, 12:44 PM

You had a few members that actually saw their role, correctly, as oversight. Half of the alumni Trustees regarded being on the Board as a high honor for loyal support to the Alumni Association (they were officers) or because they were involved in fundraising. I'm factoring out the new three.

The Board was considered to be "The Country Club." It was a status symbol and meant you could still be BMOC.

.

wonder if the boards of similar institutuions are pretty much the same as this, or if this was different. maybe as a result of paterno's control of the school? or maybe not, maybe lots of boards are loose associations of BMOC wanta bes..wouldnt surprise me? just dont know.

i do know boards are not supposed to be that way but????

ynotdivein

07-20-2012, 07:31 PM

This is :cow: based on 10+ years working with and on boards of for- and non-profits... I believe boards are best when they are not comprised largely of "insiders" to an organization or even an industry, but rather are made up of people who have an interest in the org or industry and who bring a strong CV of external activities and enterprises to the table.

If you're making Purple Widgets, you want your board to include someone who's had a successful leadership role in a company that made Purple Doohickeys; someone who's had a successful leadership role in a company that made Green Widgets; someone who's experienced in marketing Thingamabobs; someone who's got a background in financial management in the Whatsamadoodle field; probably a member who is a consumer of Purple Widgets or at least Whatsamadoodles; etc. All these people must understand that their 30,000- or 50,000-foot overview of the Purple Widget Group sets the tone for the entire organization, based on its mission and values.

And while ideally all board members will be strong, ethical, and inclusive managers and directors of people, the President and Treasurer both must embody these characteristics 100%.

:twocents:

J. J. in Phila

07-20-2012, 07:53 PM

Ynotdivein, I think you are basically correct.

You also want people that bring outside experience to a board, a good mix. You also want people with experience in oversight. Part of that is asking questions, both on and off the record.

ynotdivein

07-20-2012, 07:56 PM

Totally agree. Got too tangled up in the Doohickeys and Widgets up there, but you said in two lines what I meant. You want folks with a broad spectrum of expertise, with eyes to spot the things that "insiders" in any organization get numb to, and with the willingness and ability to ask the right questions.

And people who are not afraid of the answers they might receive to those questions, even if they are unpleasant answers.

Reader

07-25-2012, 02:04 PM

From the BOT site:

The consent decree

http://s3.amazonaws.com/ncaa/files/20120723/21207236PDF.pdf

Varsity coaches issue statements on NCAA penalties

http://live.psu.edu/story/60489#rss30

LNL

07-26-2012, 07:57 PM

Penn State's Freeh report on Sandusky case updated to correct errors

In two instances, the original report stated that former athletic director Tim Curley -- charged with perjury and failure to report -- met with Sandusky in 1998, when the former assistant coach was still employed and was under investigation by campus police.

That actually happened in 2001, three years later, when a second report was made after Sandusky retired. Authorities weren't called in that case, and that's the reason Curley and vice president Gary Schultz are charged.

An email in the report showing correspondence between Schultz and university counsel Wendell Courtney was also corrected.

Ganim says:
Originally, the Freeh report printed this was the exchange: "Courtney emails Schultz a newspaper story about the Sandusky charges. Schultz replies: “I was never aware that ‘Penn State police investigated inappropriate touching in a shower’ in 1998.”

The corrected exchange: "Courtney emails Schultz a newspaper story about the Sandusky charges and states: “I was never aware that ‘Penn State police investigated inappropriate touching in a shower’ in 1998.”

But Courtney was placed in the middle of 1998 by Schultz' testimony to the Grand Jury.

This article is a lengthy rant including exhibits:
http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/tag/dan_bright:

Saying,
Of Penn State University Police Detective Schreffler’s decision to close the 1998 case in which Sandusky admitted to him he “bear hugged” a child while showering with the boy because there was “nothing to it“, Penn State Senior V.P. Gary Schultz told the Center County Grand Jury:

… the 1998 incident was reviewed by the University Police and “the child protection agency” with the blessing of then-University counsel Wendell Courtney. Courtney was then and remains counsel for The Second Mile.

Courtney resigned as counsel of The Second Mile on Monday and was replaced in that capacity by Penn State in 2010.

While Courtney’s lack of action as it pertains to Sandusky’s future conduct imperiled the lives of countless children in future years, Courtney’s similar do-nothing stance at a Sept. 21, 2001, Penn State Board of Trustees meeting set the stage for the school to facilitate - literally - Sandusky preying on children in a more discreet and insidious way.

On Sept. 21, 2001, the Penn State Board of Trustees, with Courtney in attendance, decided to sell a 40 acre parcel of land to Sandusky’s Second Mile charity. On the same day, the transaction was announced to the public on Penn State’s official website:

What Schulz told the Grand Jury
From transcript: http://www.dauphincounty.org/_files/3193.pdf Page 217
Schultz said“between the police chief, the district attorney, and perhaps the university legal counsel and myself, the decision was made to use the child protection agency as the appropriate investigative agency.” Scultz identifies the University counsel as Courtney.

Deadspin says, “PSU's outside general counsel, Wendell Courtney, reviewed that police report on behalf of the school before submitting it to the Centre Country District Attorney.”

Fox News says, Wendell Courtney, Penn State's general counsel, reviewed that report on behalf of the university before submitting it to then-Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/11/sandusky-made-457g-after-pennsylvania-charity-learned-allegations-tax-records/

But I can’t find the deeper source for the reports that Courtney reviewed the police report.

J. J. in Phila

07-27-2012, 02:08 AM

There is no suggestion that Courntey was involved in 1998 in the e-mails, at least I don't think so. Further, the DA's Office should have had access to the police report directly and Gricar did talk directly with Schreffler.

Schultz's testimony was not definitive on if he talked with Courtney in 1998 about Victim 6. He used the word "perhaps."

J. J. in Phila

07-27-2012, 02:26 AM

Fox News says, Wendell Courtney, Penn State's general counsel, reviewed that report on behalf of the university before submitting it to then-Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/11/sandusky-made-457g-after-pennsylvania-charity-learned-allegations-tax-records/

But I can’t find the deeper source for the reports that Courtney reviewed the police report.

Page 10 said that Schultz never reviewed the 1998 report, and that, "Nobody at the University did so." They may, however, be referring to if it was reviewed in 2001.

Reader

07-27-2012, 04:26 PM

I am in agreement. Garban did two things:

A. Fail to inform the Board as a whole.

B. Fail to adequately respond to an individual question from an unknown (currently) board member on the issue.

The problem is, the Board does not directly have the power to remove him. Statute permits the people who elected him to remove him, but I think that the alumni. http://law.onecle.com/pennsylvania/corporations-and-unincorporated-associations/00.057.026.000.html

The Board would basically have to adopt a rule or bylaw for handling removal by the alumni, which they could do. Their charter/bylaws are here:

http://www.psu.edu/trustees/charter.html

The interesting thing is that, if they do that, not only would I get to vote on the removal, but so would Jerry and Dottie Sandusky.

I know this is N/A now but:

On the BBM, I didn't think Dottie went to PSU? Can she vote just because she is married to JS, who did?

And if he can vote, then they need to make a bylaw that prohibits criminals from voting!

J. J. in Phila

07-27-2012, 05:14 PM

[/B]

I know this is N/A now but:

On the BBM, I didn't think Dottie went to PSU? Can she vote just because she is married to JS, who did?

And if he can vote, then they need to make a bylaw that prohibits criminals from voting!

First, she is a graduate and, IIRC, a member of the Alumni Association.

I would oppose the bylaw change, and I am a member of a group that has a member in good standing who is on death row in Florida. Basically, the standard for voting for alumni members is being a graduate and either:

A Penn State alumni group joined state Auditor General Jack Wagner’s calls for changes in the composition of the university’s board of trustees.

Wagner on Thursday called on lawmakers to bar the Penn State president from sitting on the board and to make the governor a non-voting member of the board. Wagner said the changes are needed to alleviate concerns about potential conflicts.

.............It’s hard to imagine the pressure of that moment, when the Penn State president put pen to paper and chose the challenging road Penn State is now on over what he believed was the deeper darkness of a multi-year football death penalty.

In the years ahead, we will look back on this troubling time and realize that there were heroes in the midst of the storm, individuals who risked ridicule and heartbreak for the greater good.

With this penalty, it is true that all of us in some way now shoulder the burden for the wrongdoings of others. Students, faculty, staff and alumni who had no involvement, or even knowledge of who Jerry Sandusky was, now share in the responsibility of leaders who failed. To many, it is simply unfair.

I think, however, that acceptance of this responsibility will be essential to our ability to lay a new foundation and integral to the long-term character of our institution. In the face of this adversity, I am proud of the many students, faculty and alumni who have banded together with grace, humility and determination.

In a larger sense, the past year’s events have brought into focus the pain experienced by victims as well as the insidious crime of child sexual abuse. We owe it to them, and it is our social responsibility, to make the prevention of child sexual abuse a part of our university’s mission of teaching, research and service.

I think this is part of what McGregor was trying to say in his article in the NCAA thread...some acknowledgement by the university of the pain of the victims and emphasizing what an education and the university is all about.

Erickson is a good leader and seems to 'get it'. I really wish he had had the strength and backing to shut down the football program for at least 2 years to emphasize this lesson of how its leaders had taken over the school and caused the corruption of its ideals.

Reader

07-31-2012, 09:30 PM

Penn State Scandal: Despite Erickson's Claims, Lawsuit Insurance Not a Given

........Thus, Penn State's going to try to settle out of court as much as possible (which makes sense for all parties involved). PSU president Rodney Erickson understands that the school is prepared for just this type of situation. Per the New York Daily News:

Erickson told CBS's Face the Nation Sunday that Penn State has general liability coverage like any state university of its size............

[BUT]

Penn State's general liability insurer sought last week to deny or limit coverage for Sandusky-related claims. Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association Insurance argued that Penn State withheld key information needed to assess risk, at least after school officials investigated a May 1998 complaint that Sandusky had inappropriately showered with a boy on campus.

In a memo filed in court in Philadelphia, the company argued that Penn State failed to disclose that it had information about Sandusky that "was material to the insurable risk assumed by PMA."

The company also argued that its policies after March 1, 1992, were amended to exclude "abuse or molestation" and that coverage for such behavior is excluded as a matter of public policy in Pennsylvania.

If the coverage is denied outright, that would be a complete disaster for Penn State. We're looking at lawsuits that could top $100 million, according to the Daily News. Penn State's endowment is over $1.8 billion, but that's not money that Penn State can just spend. Endowments don't work that way.

What's more likely is that there'll be limitations on what PMA offers, and there's really no telling what that limitation will be. Obviously, Penn State will try to make it as high as possible, and PMA will try to make it as low as possible.

More at link....

Reader

08-09-2012, 02:27 PM

Aug 09, 2012

Trustees to hold special meeting on NCAA consent decree

The Penn State Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting via conference call at 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 12. The sole purpose of the special meeting is for the trustees to consider ratification of the binding consent decree imposed by the NCAA and accepted by the University. The public can listen to the meeting at the following web site online: WPSU.org/live.

.......The meeting almost didn't get started as both Trustees Joel Myers and Anthony Lubrano asked for the meeting to be adjourned due to possible violation of the Sunshine Act which states that notice of meetings must be given 10 days ahead of a scheduled meeting time. Since Chairwoman Karen Peetz said no motions or votes were being taken during the call, she ignored the motion for adjournment and began the meeting...........

Lastly, Erickson did allude to a conversation with football coach Bill O'Brien where BOB simply asked for the team to be able to play and for them to be able to play on television.

University counsel Steve Dunham then come on the line to say that university papers state the Erickson was well within his rights to sign the consent decree on behalf of Penn State without full Board approval. After a further discussion on what due process means (check @LC_Nichols for some good tweets on this), Trustee Ken Frazier, who commissioned the Freeh committee, spoke after, summing up his statements by saying, "The Board of Trustees accepts full responsibility for the failures that occurred, period."

Each individual trustee then provided a brief statement before the call ended. A majority threw the support behind Erickson and said that the university now needs to move on and face these sanctions head-on..............

Onward State@OnwardState

Pres Erickson "Challenging the sanctions would have shown the world that Penn State's main concern is football....I stand by that decision."
12 Aug 12
--------

..........I had intended to call for a vote this evening to ratify the Consent Decree. Not because ratification is legally required. It is not. But, rather, because President Erickson's authority had been challenged publicly by some of our own trustees, the leadership of the Board wanted to publicly demonstrate the Board's support of President Erickson and the University's commitment to fully perform and comply with the Consent Decree. We had hoped to clear up any lingering misunderstanding with respect to the Board's and the University's position on this matter. Given that Trustee McCombie yesterday indicated publicly that he has instructed his lawyer to refrain from taking any further action, a formal vote may not be as necessary as we had initially anticipated.........

(Reuters) - Karen Peetz's Penn State homecoming can't be what she imagined, or what her employer had in mind, for that matter.

When the successful New York banker joined the Pennsylvania State University board of trustees two years ago, the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal was still hidden from the public eye.

But then the scandal exploded, tarnishing Penn State's sterling football program and gutting the reputation of one of America's great universities. Peetz, a distinguished alum who was named American Banker's 2011 Most Powerful Woman in Banking, was elected to chair the board in its most trying times.............

Twindad

08-15-2012, 11:11 AM

http://www.nittanyturkey.com/2012/08/12/sudden-impact-pivotal-board-meeting/
Interesting article on how the board is structured.

Rlaub44

08-19-2012, 12:44 AM

Penn State cuts community access to IM Building and Rec Hall:
http://www.centredaily.com/2012/08/19/3304328/closing-the-doors.html

Rlaub44

08-19-2012, 01:41 AM

Penn State trustees will be holding an on-campus retreat next weekend that will include public sessions Saturday and Sunday.
According to an overview of events planned for the weekend, the retreat will feature a session on board structures and governance, team-building exercises and board committee seminars.

From post 44 above
Penn State cuts community access to IM Building and Rec Hall:
http://www.centredaily.com/2012/08/1...the-doors.html (http://www.centredaily.com/2012/08/1...the-doors.html)

If I understand the gist of the new PennSt policies & procedures changes re recreational (i.e. non-class, non-team) related use of the athletic facilities, it's this:
1. Now only a person w. Uni ID can use the facilities and may bring one 'guest.'
2. Now Uni students are supposed to be 'safer' in those facilities because they will be the most common users.

LOOK BACK?
So if these policies had been in place and ENFORCED say in 1998 or 2002 or other relevant times, how if at all would that have changed the outcome re JerSan's activities?
Didn't he have Uni ID which wd/hv granted him access? 1998? Maybe not in 2002.
Didn't he only have only guest at a time?

LOOKING FORWARD
Next month, if a person (such as a Uni prof., coach, staffer, or any other Uni employee) w. Uni ID commits the same actions (showers with, assaults, attacks, sexually molests) a grade schooler or middle schooler guest in locker room...
would these policies do anything to prevent it? To reduce opportunity to do it?
I don't see how.

While these P & P changes may be approp, for other reasons, doesn't seem to me that they address the root of the problem.

Uni had notice of a crime (in 1998 'sting' operation, coach admitted showering & hugging boy & said said I wish I were dead --- common sense tells us that was crime, not horseplay). Okay, at the least, Uni had notice of coach-employee's very hinky behavior on campus way back when 1998.
Uni did not address the prob by firing him, or by taking any other approp. concrete steps then-1998.
Uni did not address prob in 2002 (after McQ reported up the chain of command) by declaring JerSan to be persona non grata and following thru w. it.

How do these P & P changes help prevent or reduce chances of this happening again?

(Maybe P & P sh/bar any one from using facilities other than for classes and group team practice? /sarc/)

Possible P & P change --- training employees about reporting up the chain?
Well, knowledge of JerSan's activities went all the way up the chain (except poss'ly not to entire Bd/Ttees).

If Uni top admin. doesn't want to 'bother' Bd/Ttees w. matters like a coach showering & bear hugging little boy and way more,
top admin. sh have the fortitude to put the coach on the street and properly refer to off-campus LE and Pa child protection ag'y.

Long story, made short:
IMO, changing policies about who uses the facilities doesn't help, if top Uni admin people hear-see-speak no evil.
IMO, trustees retreat, 'training' and new Bd. P & P doesn't help, if top Uni admin cont's failing in future to provide info to the Bd.

I do not see how Bd/Tee sh/hv needed to consider JerSan's actions because top admin sh/hv addressed JerSan in 1998, 2002, etc. and Bd wd/hv had nothing to consider re JerSan in 2010, 2010, 2102.
But in more recent yrs, Bd sh/hv bn addressing top admin's coverup actions in prior yrs. And finally it did-- by firing them.

MOO, JMO, OMO, etc.

J. J. in Phila

08-20-2012, 04:29 PM

Rec Hall is a different building, and different showers, than the football building, Lasch Building, where Sandusky was. I have showered in Rec Hall, as a student, but I doubt it a student could have just walked into Lasch and showered.

al66pine

08-20-2012, 07:28 PM

to
J.J. in Phila

Thanks for pointing this out.

I thought the announced changes were formulated w. the classic, but oh-so-elusive goal --
so This Never Happens Again, but seems,
IMO, like this change has virtually no impact on or relevance to the problem they were trying to prevent.
Especially if the P & P changes do not apply to facilities and bldg where JerSan's crime occurred.

I'll go back to the link and reread. Maybe I misunderstood the point of P & P changes entirely.

Or maybe PennSt adminrs thought to selves --
We'll announce a series of P &P changes about facilities usage,
so the gen pub will think we are Taking Measures.
----------------------------------
Edit, after rereading linked article.
I'm seeing the same question from some commenters to that article, in essencse --
how does the change -- excluding the pub w/out Uni IDs --- make the bldg any safer for the students there-
when it was a coach employed by PennSt that committed the crimes?

Rlaub44

08-20-2012, 11:09 PM

to
J.J. in Phila

Thanks for pointing this out.

I thought the announced changes were formulated w. the classic, but oh-so-elusive goal --
so This Never Happens Again, but seems,
IMO, like this change has virtually no impact on or relevance to the problem they were trying to prevent.
Especially if the P & P changes do not apply to facilities and bldg where JerSan's crime occurred.

I'll go back to the link and reread. Maybe I misunderstood the point of P & P changes entirely.

Or maybe PennSt adminrs thought to selves --
We'll announce a series of P &P changes about facilities usage,
so the gen pub will think we are Taking Measures.
----------------------------------
Edit, after rereading linked article.
I'm seeing the same question from some commenters to that article, in essencse --
how does the change -- excluding the pub w/out Uni IDs --- make the bldg any safer for the students there-
when it was a coach employed by PennSt that committed the crimes?

Unfortunately, I fear that you are right. It is much like many people view the NCAA sanctions and the accreditation warning - it is about the appearance of taking strong and decisive action, even if those actions are largely symbolic.

Now in all fairness, the new access rules PSU announced may be good ideas from a security/liability standpoint; they wouldn't have made a difference in preventing Sandusky from raping children, but that doesn't mean it may not help prevent other crimes in the future.

J. J. in Phila

08-20-2012, 11:51 PM

Unfortunately, I fear that you are right. It is much like many people view the NCAA sanctions and the accreditation warning - it is about the appearance of taking strong and decisive action, even if those actions are largely symbolic.

Now in all fairness, the new access rules PSU announced may be good ideas from a security/liability standpoint; they wouldn't have made a difference in preventing Sandusky from raping children, but that doesn't mean it may not help prevent other crimes in the future.

Well, it's not symbolic, but precautionary. No, it wouldn't have make a difference last time. It might the next time. I'm sure Sandusky was not the only predator, either on the planet or in Happy Valley.

Reader

08-25-2012, 07:47 AM

Sanctions, president search on agenda for Penn State trustees weekend meeting

The Penn State's Board of Trustees has announced a series of special meetings on Saturday and Sunday at the Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel, where most activity will be public.

Public sessions of the meeting will be streamed live online. Various committee seminars also will be public. There are no items for action by the board at these meetings and a list of discussion items will be posted by 8 a.m. on Saturday for public viewing.................

Online streaming:

http://www.wpsu.org/live

Reader

08-25-2012, 06:03 PM

Penn State board head warns of tough times ahead

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - The head of Penn State's board of trustees is warning of difficult times ahead as the school tries to make changes following the child sex abuse scandal..........

"There are some with differing opinions, some who say 'Fight back,'" she said. "While I'm respectful of those individuals, let me be clear: We must not and will not waiver in accepting responsibility and reality. We'll take decisive actions to right wrongs, change and improve processes and operations, and demonstrate values-based leadership in all we do."..........

A trustees (http://topics.pennlive.com/tag/board%20of%20trustees/index.html)retreat devoted to "team-building" and celebrating a new era of openness devolved for a time Saturday into a group therapy session over NCAA sanctions (http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/07/ncaa_decision_on_penn_state.html) and the frustrations of many in Nittany Nation that the university has become a convenient whipping boy for all the wrongs of big-time college athletics.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/08/penn_state_board_of_trustees_m_3.html#incart_river _default

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Pennsylvania State University is going on the offensive to restore its battered image.

After months of reacting to one devastating development after another in the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal, university trustees Sunday charted a proactive strategy to rebuild faith in the campus.

The approach, outlined on the final day of the board's annual retreat, includes implementing several recommendations offered last month in an internal report on the university's handling of the crisis, as well as launching a media campaign to emphasize Penn State's achievements.

More at link.....

Reader

08-30-2012, 01:10 PM

Survivors, Experts to Speak at Penn State's National Conference on Child Sexual Abuse in October

Survivors of childhood sexual abuse Sugar Ray Leonard and Elizabeth Smart are just two on a list of featured guests and experts who will speak at Penn State's National Conference on Child Sexual Abuse in October.

The Child Sexual Abuse Conference, titled Traumatic Impact, Prevention, and Intervention will be held Oct. 29-30 at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. It will bring together some of the nation's top experts in child sexual abuse and child trauma research, prevention, and treatment for a public forum on this nationwide problem............

Registration as well as more information on the conference is available to the general public at protectchildren.psu.edu/.

"More than nine percent of children were victims of sexual abuse in 2010, according to the latest national survey, and this doesn't take into account severe under-reporting of this crime. Research shows that child sexual abuse affects children of all ages, both genders, and all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. No group of children is exempt. Nonetheless, it remains an issue that the nation finds difficult to talk about," said Kate Staley, a researcher at the Penn State Justice Center for Research, a co-organizer of the event.

More at link.....

Rlaub44

09-02-2012, 10:37 AM

A lot of attention was given to the criticisms leveled by Vicky Triponey against the "football culture" at Penn State. But a 2007 report on Judicial Affairs recommended the opposite of her stance while there:

The September 2007 report on Judicial Affairs, obtained by the Centre Daily Times, recommended changes — which then- President Graham Spanier implemented. They include in general leaving it to directors, advisers or coaches to decide whether students under disciplinary probation should be allowed to participate in sports and clubs rather than putting that in the hands of Student Affairs, which oversees the Office of Student Conduct.

...
Triponey, who left Penn State in 2007 after four years in the job, has been featured in several news stories following the Sandusky scandal, condemning interference from Joe Paterno in disciplinary matters involving football players and agreeing with the idea of a cultural problem. But her stance on who should decide whether athletes in trouble can participate in extracurricular programs — the person in her former position or the club or sport leader — runs counter to the 2007 report, a product of an independent faculty committee.

Survivors of childhood sexual abuse Sugar Ray Leonard and Elizabeth Smart are just two on a list of featured guests and experts who will speak at Penn State's National Conference on Child Sexual Abuse in October.

The Child Sexual Abuse Conference, titled Traumatic Impact, Prevention, and Intervention will be held Oct. 29-30 at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. It will bring together some of the nation's top experts in child sexual abuse and child trauma research, prevention, and treatment for a public forum on this nationwide problem............

Registration as well as more information on the conference is available to the general public at protectchildren.psu.edu/.

"More than nine percent of children were victims of sexual abuse in 2010, according to the latest national survey, and this doesn't take into account severe under-reporting of this crime. Research shows that child sexual abuse affects children of all ages, both genders, and all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. No group of children is exempt. Nonetheless, it remains an issue that the nation finds difficult to talk about," said Kate Staley, a researcher at the Penn State Justice Center for Research, a co-organizer of the event.

More at link.....

Hmmm, a conference on child sexual abuse. This should have been on the agenda for Penn State years ago..like maybe 1998. Too little too late. Also, the ones who really need to attend this event won't be there. One's dead, the two others are preparing for a trial. Sorry to be so negative about an important social subject.

Reader

09-04-2012, 01:11 AM

Hmmm, a conference on child sexual abuse. This should have been on the agenda for Penn State years ago..like maybe 1998. Too little too late. Also, the ones who really need to attend this event won't be there. One's dead, the two others are preparing for a trial. Sorry to be so negative about an important social subject.

I agree that it is too late for the present and former victims but I am hoping that this will be taken seriously by the school and prevent a future situation from happening to anyone else there.

BigCat

09-10-2012, 09:11 AM

There are some rumblings of a "Rally for Resignation" this weekend before the Penn State-Navy game. Here is the message that's been making the rounds on the PSU football boards:

In case anybody hasn't see this, we are trying to organize--by the seat of our pants--a big rally/protest demonstration on Friday, September 14th, which is the next scheduled meeting on campus of the "lion-hearted" Board of Trustees. We would like to make a public statement about the outrage many Penn Staters feel about the total lack of effective leadership shown by Erickson and the BOT--as well as the damage done to a great University by Governor Corbett.

I'm still waiting to hear from Franco Harris about his possible involvement. And I've again reached out to Justin Kurpeikis of the Letterman's Club.

LionDeNittany has set up a rudimentary website at stateyou.com and hopefully more content will be added later today.

Spokechuck has indicated that he'll be contacting the Facebook Group "We intend to vote out the Penn State Board of Trustees" about this possible rally.

Demlion has emailed the president of the undergraduate student government. Dem, is there a vp or other officer you might also try given our time issues?

This is truly a grassroots thing. Anyone else who is motivated to get involved can do so--just think of something helpful and wade into the fray.

If somebody here is also a member of FOS, perhaps you might post something on both the premium board and Audibles about this enterprise?

If any of you have kids who are students at University Park, try to get them involved.

Reader

09-17-2012, 05:29 PM

I read somewhere there were about 300 people at that rally, BigCat, so again just a minority of Penn State students and alumni....

.............Trustees chairwoman Karen Peetz said the board is focused on implementing changes recommended by Freeh, which is hopes to do by the end of next year, but it did not plan a detailed review of the report itself. She said that would take its course in upcoming trials or other legal channels.

More at link.....

Twindad

11-14-2012, 10:21 PM

http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Department/Press/WagnerCallsOnGenAssemblyGovTakeLead.html
It appears Mr. Wagner doesn't appreciate the effort the board is making.

J. J. in Phila

11-15-2012, 12:00 AM

http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Department/Press/WagnerCallsOnGenAssemblyGovTakeLead.html
It appears Mr. Wagner doesn't appreciate the effort the board is making.

Mr. Wagner lacks and understanding of some of the key aspects of meeting procedure, e.g. the proper content of minutes, and the purpose of a quorum, but some of his ideas are good.

The full report is here: http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/reports/PennStateSpecialReport.pdf

J. J. in Phila

12-05-2012, 07:10 PM

Just polled by the alumni association on the situation. We both got through the conversation without saying the name "Sandusky," interestingly.

I think that is a wise move to give the appearance of a "fresh start" to the Board. As the chair, she has been the most public face of the old guard.

However, much of the alumni anger has been directed at John Surma, both for his handling of the phone call to Paterno, and because his brother Vic had vowed long before the Sandusky scandal to publicly humiliate Paterno, giving John Surma's actions the appearance (to some) of a family vendetta.

Surma's term ends in 2013, but he was not elected by alumni; rather he was elected by the board itself to represent business and industry. Being that Spanier sat on the board of US Steel, of which Surma is the CEO, I wonder if that was his inroad into his board seat.

The board might be wise to not bring Mr. Surma back for a third term; not to kowtow to public pressure, but simply to eliminate another controversial link to their unpopular actions over the past 13 months.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State's Board of Trustees will elect a new chair and vice chair at its Friday, Jan. 18, public meeting at the University Park campus, and has received an expression of interest in leadership positions from the following trustee candidates:

STATE COLLEGE — A Penn State faculty senate panel says adding academic representation to the school's Board of Trustees would help the governing body understand the mission, values and complexities of overseeing the university.......more at link......

- See more at: http://dailyitem.com/0100_news/x657738073/Penn-State-faculty-pose-suggested-changes-to-trustees#sthash.4kMl3FqN.dpuf

STATE COLLEGE — A Penn State faculty senate panel says adding academic representation to the school's Board of Trustees would help the governing body understand the mission, values and complexities of overseeing the university.......more at link......

- See more at: http://dailyitem.com/0100_news/x657738073/Penn-State-faculty-pose-suggested-changes-to-trustees#sthash.4kMl3FqN.dpuf

Yeah, that'll fix everything.

J. J. in Phila

02-27-2013, 08:48 PM

Yeah, that'll fix everything.

I've read it this morning, and it wasn't that bad. Parts were predicable, "Let's put faculty on the board." Parts were silly, "Let's have the alumni members with backgrounds in higher education." Some others were not.

J. J. in Phila

02-28-2013, 08:16 PM

Erickson being bombarded with questions on Freeh's accuracy at a PA Senate Appropriations Committee hearing: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/02/28/3520214/erickson-peppered-with-freeh-report.html

This sounds to me like much ado about nothing, but there was a piece on the local news involving investigation into e-mails shared between the Sandusky prosecutors (Frank Fina was named) and members of the Freeh team.

Not sure why this is newsworthy, unless the belief is that Freeh was leaking his findings to the prosecution team, which I guess would be in contrast with the stated purpose of the Freeh Committee and why they were commissioned by Penn State?

This sounds to me like much ado about nothing, but there was a piece on the local news involving investigation into e-mails shared between the Sandusky prosecutors (Frank Fina was named) and members of the Freeh team.

Not sure why this is newsworthy, unless the belief is that Freeh was leaking his findings to the prosecution team, which I guess would be in contrast with the stated purpose of the Freeh Committee and why they were commissioned by Penn State?

Freeh stated at the time that any information would be turned over to the AG's Office. I'm not seeing this as being wrong.

Rlaub44

03-11-2013, 04:30 PM

Freeh stated at the time that any information would be turned over to the AG's Office. I'm not seeing this as being wrong.

I thought the same thing - in fact, I found this:

Freeh’s team found emails that the AG’s investigators couldn’t get. Freeh called those emails the “most important pieces of evidence in the case.”
Those emails and other correspondence, according to Freeh, helped the attorney general’s office correct the date of the infamous Mike McQueary incident from 2002 to 2001.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/07/analysis_fbi_director_louis_fr.html

So it was never suggested, that I can tell, that information gathered by Freeh wouldn't be shared. I'll keep an eye on where this story goes.

J. J. in Phila

03-11-2013, 10:51 PM

The contract specifically gave Freeh the authority to report any evidence to law enforcement (p. 2).

I could not help notice the similarities between Penn State and South Hadley. Jerry Sandusky and Kayla Narey, Flannery Mullins, Ashley Longe, Sharon Chanon Velazquez, Sean Mulveyhill, and Austin Renaud could of been stopped. A culture of complicity runs deep in both Penn State and South Hadley.

Phoebe Prince's death choronicled in new book that takes hard look at South Hadley
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/new_phoebe_prince_book_takes_h.html

J. J. in Phila

03-14-2013, 11:20 PM

And Trustee Frazier has blasted the Paterno Report: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/03/14/3538896/penn-state-trustee-frazier-dismisses.html

HARRISBURG — Penn State trustee James Broadhurst thinks the size of the university’s governing body is OK for now, and he supports a new provision that will provide a way to remove a rebel trustee.

But fellow trustee Anthony Lubrano thinks the opposite. A smaller board means a more engaged board, and the state should take action to reduce the size. Plus, he thinks the remove-the-trustee provision is aimed at him.

The opposing stances were voiced Monday, when Broadhurst and Lubrano testified before the Senate State Government Committee about the governance reforms the trustees are taking up in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Their testimonies underscored the divide that exists on the board over some of the recommendations from former Auditor General Jack Wagner and the ideologies for best practices in a post-Sandusky atmosphere.............

In taking the testimony, the senators said they wanted to discern whether the failures from the Sandusky scandal were because of the people involved or the way the governance was laid out............

Wagner’s successor, Eugene DePasquale, testified, too, and took a hard line on the status quo of the university. He said it would be a “big mistake” if Penn State officials were left to reform themselves.

He said trustees need to know their service is “not just some club anymore.” He also called the president’s powers a “recipe for disaster.”............

There are notably fewer with the "avenge Joe" platform, though still a number.

I have made a personal decision in favor of two.

I'm guessing most of those running on the "avenge Joe" platform are either independently wealthy or retired. No working professional would risk looking like a flake.

J. J. in Phila

03-21-2013, 12:51 PM

I'm guessing most of those running on the "avenge Joe" platform are either independently wealthy or retired. No working professional would risk looking like a flake.

Some of them were recent graduates. I just had an active professional, insist that Paterno didn't really mean it when he testified that McQueary told him that what he said was sexual. It is a variety, much like a can of assorted nuts. :)

This is not increasing the value of my degree!

BigCat

03-21-2013, 07:10 PM

Some of them were recent graduates. I just had an active professional, insist that Paterno didn't really mean it when he testified that McQueary told him that what he said was sexual. It is a variety, much like a can of assorted nuts. :)

This is not increasing the value of my degree!

:floorlaugh: I've read several variations of that theory on PSU football boards. I usually ask the poster why he is so angry at the way Paterno was treated, if he believes Paterno committed perjury. That is certainly a justification for dismissal. It's also a criminal offense, which means Paterno got off easy since he was never charged with a crime.

Twindad

03-21-2013, 07:27 PM

I'm guessing most of those running on the "avenge Joe" platform are either independently wealthy or retired. No working professional would risk looking like a flake.

Two years after the first public report of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse investigation, it appears that Penn State has been divided into two distinct camps.

Essentially, one group says a very bad thing happened on our campus, and whoever you hold responsible for it, collectively we didn’t see it or stop it, and we need to own that and make sure it never happens again.

The other camp sees it differently.

What Jerry Sandusky did was terrible, they agree. But what university leaders did in reaction to the scandal - tearing down much of what Penn Staters held dear because of our shared shame – may have been worse.

From the NCAA penalties against the football team to the criminal charges against former President Graham Spanier, it has created unconscionable collateral damage that must be repaired.

For many, the sore point remains the firing of Joe Paterno, the head football coach for 46 years and the man who truly was the face of Penn State.

On Web sites, in court filings and in person, the combatants mostly talk right past each other these days. And from an outsider’s vantage point, it is looking very much like a war for Penn State’s soul.

The Penn State Board of Trustees' meetings, lately, have been like battlegrounds............

But several other speakers, who did not get nearly the same degree of attention at the time, actually commended the board for its leadership, and called on them to stay the course.

“I don’t think it serves a purpose to drag university leadership through the mud, and I think that’s what is taking place,” countered Robert Leiby, a retired agricultural extension agent from Kutztown.

“Yes, this tragedy of the past two years was very painful. But the university community needs to move forward and not relive it forever.”............

The campus perspective
In the middle are Penn State students and staff, many of whom insist that even as the lords of the university fight on, life on campus is pretty much the same as ever............

“When I do see it, I just kind of roll my eyes because it’s kind of like: ‘We need to move forward.’… I didn’t come to this college for football, though it is one of those fun things to do. I came to better myself.”

English professor Michael Berube echoed Rodriguez’s sense.

“Most of us have gotten back to the work of teaching and research -- students and faculty alike. That's why most of us are here, after all,” said Berube, who wrote an eloquent essay on the scandal last fall.

“The wrangling about the Board of trustees and the post-Sandusky fallout feels like it is happening on another plane of existence altogether.”.........

So when and how Penn State strikes a truce is important.

Some think that it really won’t happen until there is a new president............

As for the presidential search, Nassirian said the university will still attract top-flight candidates.

But if the Sandusky fallout is still raging when it comes time to close the deal, Nassirian said, it could very well cost Penn State its top choice.

“Anybody qualified to run Penn State would have significant other options as well,” he noted. “You have to wonder who is going to be willing to walk into a setting where, no matter what they do, a major constituency is going to be mad at them.”............

In the kind of negative messaging once unheard of in trustees elections, PS4RS is running ads and sponsoring billboards with messages like: “Suhey and Deviney voted to fire JoePa. Now they want OUR vote. Really?”

Current Board Chairman Keith Masser, in response to questions for this story, issued a statement showing that he is comfortable with the board’s course, and that he believes a silent majority of Penn Staters are too............

Those who are still loyal to the “Old State” they knew and cherished, meanwhile, have only begun to fight. Lubrano’s bloc numbers about five or six strong on the board of trustees now. He hopes to increase its strength in this year’s alumni elections.............

Nassirian said the university would be best served to get over it as soon as possible. "If you really care about Penn State, you ought to care about Penn State being able to go about its business,” he concluded.

While I do believe the board needs reform, and I'm happy in that respect that newcomers won, I'm not at all comfortable that the pro-Joe force was elected. I'd be happier with a pro-truth bunch, regardless of whose reputation becomes tarnished, or more tarnished.

J. J. in Phila

05-04-2013, 03:06 PM

While I do believe the board needs reform, and I'm happy in that respect that newcomers won, I'm not at all comfortable that the pro-Joe force was elected. I'd be happier with a pro-truth bunch, regardless of whose reputation becomes tarnished, or more tarnished.

They did not get my vote, but neither did the two incumbents. I do feel that there should be a clearing of those alumni members that were on the board in May of 2011.

nittanylioness234

05-04-2013, 03:53 PM

Erickson being bombarded with questions on Freeh's accuracy at a PA Senate Appropriations Committee hearing: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/02/28/3520214/erickson-peppered-with-freeh-report.html

Sorry I missed this article. The link no longer works, and I can't find the article, despite searching "Rodney Erickson" in their search engine.

nittanylioness234

05-04-2013, 03:55 PM

They did not get my vote, but neither did the two incumbents. I do feel that there should be a clearing of those alumni members that were on the board in May of 2011.

I agree, and also voted accordingly - not for the new 3, nor the former 2.

Twindad

05-07-2013, 10:25 AM

Sorry I missed this article. The link no longer works, and I can't find the article, despite searching "Rodney Erickson" in their search engine.

These may help: http://www.pasenate.com/?p=13353
http://news.psu.edu/story/151230/2012/03/01/president-erickson-addresses-senate-appropriations-committee

"Penn State trustees scheduled a meeting for Oct. 30 where they were expected to vote on a new president, but canceled it abruptly. Then on Nov. 5, the Albany Times Union revealed that Smith, president of the State University of New York’s Upstate Medical University, was the preferred pick for the new job, but was in the middle of an investigation into allegations he padded his state pay without authorization."

"Pennsylvania State University’s board of trustees emerged from a private meeting on Friday and said they need more time to consider presidential candidates - and that’s why they canceled a public meeting where they were expected to vote on a new president.

“The search process is progressing and will continue until the best possible person to lead Penn State is selected and presented to the full board for a vote," Board of Trustees Chairman Keith Masser said in a prepared statement.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education is looking into Penn State's handling of sexual harassment and sexual assault complaints to see if it had responded appropriately to those reports in the years surrounding the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal that engulfed the university.......

"Our initial review of Penn State's sexual harassment policy, compounded by a dramatic increase in the number of forcible sex offenses occurring on campus as reported by the university itself, raised legal concerns that compelled us to investigate," Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon said in the statement.

The investigation will look to determine whether complaints were improperly handled, thus keeping the numbers artificially low, before the spike, a department spokesman said.......more......

J. J. in Phila

02-14-2014, 09:17 PM

Eric Barron, of Florida State, to be next PSU president. He previously was the Dean of PSU's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, among other impressive credentials.

Barron, 62, has enjoyed widespread respect and admiration at FSU, in the greater Tallahassee community and even in Florida’s Capitol. Under his leadership, FSU has been ranked the most efficient university in the country the past two years and it has steadily moved up in the national rankings.

“People would be surprised at how much pain is associated with leaving Florida State,” Barron said. “It is awfully hard.”

Barron has set FSU on a path to be listed among the top 25 public universities in the nation. He also has initiated FSU’s first $1 billion capital campaign, which is just beyond the midpoint. But he said he doesn’t believe he has unfinished business at FSU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1973.

“If you’re doing a good job, there’s no such thing as a good time, there’s no finish line,” he said. “There’s always the next thing you want to accomplish. Any president who’s thinking about a finish line is thinking about their retirement and not doing their job.”

Reader

02-22-2014, 01:45 PM

Challenging PS4RS, Penn State trustee Joel Myers to seek re-election

Myers said this would be his last term, and he likened his candidacy to a “referen-dum question” for alumni.

“Do they believe, as I do, that it is time to surge onward, toward a bright future and out of the Sandusky darkness? Or do they support the group calling itself Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship, whose eyes seem to look only backward, using counterproductive acrimony and recriminations to continue to churn our collective hurt?”

As a PSU alum, Myers' comments only serve to further alienate me from the 2011 BOT. I'm not a PS4RS supporter, but believe the 2011 BOT did not handle the events leading up to the scandal revelations, nor the aftermath in the proper manner. While the BOT did the right thing in removing Paterno and the others from their positions, I disagree with the way Paterno was relieved, and shudder at many of the comments they have made post-scandal. I support PS4RS in searching for truth, but disagree that "clearing" Paterno should be the top priority. Doing what is best for the school, and learning enough of what happened to ensure nothing like this happens again should be the priority, regardless of where the search for the truth leads. Myers has waffled back and forth with regard to the NCAA sanctions, and should have been working for transparency and greater involvement of all trustees, not just the upper echelon, throughout his long tenure. His comment about this "referen-dum question" for alumni completely rubs me the wrong way, as if he thinks we alums would be "dumb" if we don't work for his re-election. I feel we would be "dumb" if we do.

J. J. in Phila

02-23-2014, 01:28 AM

Snipping, but in general agreement

As a PSU alum, Myers' comments only serve to further alienate me from the 2011 BOT. I'm not a PS4RS supporter, but believe the 2011 BOT did not handle the events leading up to the scandal revelations, nor the aftermath in the proper manner.

This, to me, is the key. In May 2011, after the story was initially reported, apparently no member of the BoT said, "We need to hear this from our attorney." Myers was there.

I think I voted for Myers in the last 8 times he ran, but I am looking for another candidate this time.

While the BOT did the right thing in removing Paterno and the others from their positions, I disagree with the way Paterno was relieved, and shudder at many of the comments they have made post-scandal. I support PS4RS in searching for truth, but disagree that "clearing" Paterno should be the top priority. Doing what is best for the school, and learning enough of what happened to ensure nothing like this happens again should be the priority, regardless of where the search for the truth leads.

It may have been appropriate to have put Paterno on paid leave until retirement, on the basis that this is what they did for Curley (who was charged at the time).